Here Comes The Boom (2012)

Here Comes The Boom Synopsis

In the comedy Here Comes the Boom, former collegiate wrestler Scott Voss (Kevin James) is a 42-year-old apathetic biology teacher in a failing high school. When cutbacks threaten to cancel the music program and lay off its teacher (Henry Winkler,) Scott begins to raise money by moonlighting as a mixed martial arts fighter. Everyone thinks Scott is crazy – most of all the school nurse, Bella (Salma Hayek) – but in his quest, Scott gains something he never expected as he becomes a sensation that rallies the entire school.

Comedian Kevin James has a lot of talents, but none are better than coming across as a likeable and bumbling everyman. He has one of those faces that’s immediately sympathetic and coupled with his wit, he always seems like a good guy to be friends with. He tapped into the persona during his long run on King Of Queens, during his time as a stand-up and more recently in Here Comes The Boom

Ben Affleck's Oscar baiting Argo settled for a close second place with $20 million. That wasn't quite enough to top his previous directorial effort The Town which bowed in at $23 million. The drop is most easily blamed on the fact that Jon Hamm wasn't cast this time around.

Both Kevin James and Henry Winkler have been big parts of Adam Sandler's production label Happy Madison for years now. Separately they've both been in a number of projects that company has made, including The Waterboy, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Click, Grown Ups, and Little Nicky, and they actually both appeared in You Don't Mess With The Zohan.

As much as I am a fan of slapstick and willfully silly comedy, I have to admit: I don't like a single Kevin James movie…at least none of his live-action ones. I adore Monster House where he lends his voice to a skeptical cop, and Hotel Transylvania, where he plays a solidly sweet Frankenstein's monster, is actually surprisingly fun. But when it comes to the rest…seriously, yikes.

Ever since Paul Blart: Mall Cop became a surprisingly big success in January of 2009, Kevin James has been an unlikely movie star on the rise, whether joining his buddy Adam Sandler in a hit as big (and terrible) as Grown Ups or leading things for himself in Zookeeper

January reigns supreme. In addition to following both the end of the winter blockbusters and award season, people are more likely to stay indoors and avoid the cold during the first month of the year, meaning that films that open in that four week span tend to be ignored. So when it was announced today that Premium Rush, the new film from David Koepp, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Michael Shannon, would be abandoning its January 13, 2012...

I must admit that I am somewhat on the fence about the remake of Total Recall. On the one hand I certainly consider myself a fan of the Arnold Schwarzenegger film, but I also really like Colin Farrell and they seem to be taking it in a much different direction. I'm retired to a place where I'm just going to wait for it to come out and judge it on its own merits. Now I know exactly when that will be.